Page 21 of Wild Omegas (Wild Skies Ranch Omegaverse #1)

Luke

I wake first and slip out of the nest mostly unnoticed. Carson opens his eyes for one moment and then, seeing me, goes right back to sleep. Good. He needs it after yesterday.

I’m not sure how we didn’t notice something amiss other than it happened in the morning, but I can’t let that criminal get close to Josie again. Or the animals. Thank god none of the horses were hurt.

I head out there before dawn to check on the foal and the other horses.

They seem uneasy. Not because of me but in general.

I fill the water and feed them early before taking a walk around the damaged barn.

The guys and I were able to put up a temporary fence to keep the horses out in case the damaged roof caved in, but they need a reliable shelter.

That’s just one thing on a long list of things that need to be handled today.

I wander back to the main house and shower quickly since everyone’s still asleep, then head into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The smells of cooking food have turned into a better alarm clock around here than any phone alarm.

My pack pads in to find a much simpler breakfast than what Josie cooked for us, but it’s honestly not too shabby if I do say so myself.

“Thank you,” Josie offers with a grateful smile.

I pull her hand to my lips and kiss it. “Anything for you. For our pack.” To Carson I ask, “How are you today?”

Carson sips his coffee. “A lot less shaken. I’m ready to help out today.”

Brooks points at him. “You take it easy, though. Smoke inhalation is no joke.”

Carson raises his hands. “Understood. There’s a lot of work to do, though.”

“We’ll get to it all.” Josie’s voice is like a beacon, her presence the only anchor sometimes. “Let’s work on a priority list and go from there.”

I think finding Damien is priority number one. But the logical part of my brain has already decided the truth. “The barn roof. Honestly, if the damage is bad enough we may need a new barn in general. I’m going to place some calls and get some quotes.”

Josie nods then pulls out her phone to start making the official list.

“I think…” Carson trails off. We all turn to him. “Josie, I think you should call a few places in Fairwater and trying talking to a therapist or another professional about everything. Maybe that’s overstepping, but I think it’d help.”

Josie’s lips form a thin line but she does nod. “You’re right. It would. And it’s not overstepping. I know you care about me. You all do.”

Brooks gets up from the table to place a soft kiss on the top of her head. “And don’t you forget it. We’ll help you rebuild.”

Josie smiles warmly. “I’m hoping we can all keep building together, period. I can… also reach out to the police back in New York about this.”

“Of course we’ll keep building,” I say. My phone starts ringing. I glance down to find Josie’s grandmother of all people calling. “Excuse me.”

I head out into the study to pick up the call. If she wanted Josie to hear, she’d have called her granddaughter herself. Which is enough to tell me they’ve already heard about the barn fire and are concerned for Josie.

I pick up the call. “Charlotte, hi. How are you?”

“I’m doing well, Luke, thank you.” There’s a shuffling sound on the other end. “The fire department told us about the fire yesterday. Is everyone all right?”

I glance back toward the kitchen where I see my pack working on that priority list. “Yes, no injuries to us or any animals.”

Charlotte releases a breath. “I’m so glad to hear that. What an unfortunate accident.” Her tone is tight, almost like she’s aware likely no one thinks it’s an accident. “And Josie?”

I catch sight of my omega as she walks across the kitchen. There one second, gone the next as the angles of the rooms and hallways don’t allow me to fully keep eyes on her. It feels like foreshadowing, but I push this thought away. “She’s shaken but doing okay. We’re all taking care of her.”

“I knew you would.” Charlotte’s tone lightens, which I’m glad for. “Let us know what needs to be done for the barn and we’ll handle the arrangements as well as payment.”

I chuckle a little. “Josie’s already on the case, but I’ll forward you her notes. She’d be happy to hear from you, I think.”

I can almost hear Charlotte smile. “I think she would. I just wanted to check with you on her state first.”

And now I know why Josie might have a “state,” or why she suddenly reappeared at Wild Skies Ranch after years in New York City.

I also understand why Charlotte asks. She knew we were alphas when she hired us and then sent her granddaughter here.

“We won’t do to her what her previous pack did,” I assure Charlotte. “We’re not like that, and your granddaughter is every bright sunrise in the world all at once. Not a single one of us could ever dream of hurting her.”

“Good,” Charlotte says. “I’m so very happy to hear that. I was afraid my granddaughter might accuse me of matchmaking, but I knew you three would take care of her. That you might be the only ones to get through to her.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“I’m the one who should be thanking you, Luke.” She pauses. I can hear emotion welling in her voice. “We can’t thank you enough for your dedication to Wild Skies. To your whole pack’s dedication. We’re so very proud of you.”

I can’t help but smile at that. “I appreciate that, ma’am. Just keeping your legacy and my grandparents’ legacy going.”

“I think you’re doing a wonderful job of it.”

“Thank you.” And then I maybe step too far. “You should call Josie later on today and check in. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you both.”

“We will,” she says. “Take care, Luke.”

“You too.”

We hang up the call and I head back into the kitchen, but Josie’s already left to shower and get ready for the day.

Brooks nods toward me. “Everything okay?”

I run my hand through my hair and then pocket my phone. “Yeah, the Roses were checking in on us. Said just send them the list of what needs to be done and they’ll handle it.”

“Leaves us doing the work,” Carson says. “Can’t complain there.”

“Bet this will be all over the local news up in Fairwater,” Brooks says. “Just in time for the rodeo competition, too. We’ll be the talk of the town. Not sure Josie needs that.” Brooks glances up at me. “Are you still going to enter it with all this going on?”

Carson barks a laugh. “If you won’t, I will. Might be the only thing that’ll jolt me out of this.”

I shake my head. “That’s a bad idea without practice.” Then to Brooks, “I will still enter it, yeah. It might mean something else for people to talk about for the next few weeks when they hear Wild Skies mentioned. Besides, we all need something to focus on right now.”

Brooks taps the table. “Josie is number one priority though.”

“Of course.” I personally think he didn’t even need to question it. She’ll always be number one priority. But none of us can deny there’s a lot to do around here today. “Let’s get to work.”